The present invention relates to a remanufacturing method for a process cartridge.
Here, the process cartridge is a cartridge containing at least a developing roller as developing means and an electrophotographic photosensitive member as a unit, the cartridge being detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The process cartridge may contain an electrophotographic photosensitive member and at least one of charging means, developing means and cleaning means as a unit detachably mountable to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus. The process cartridge may contain at least an electrophotographic photosensitive member and developing means a unit detachably mountable to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus.
The electrophotographic image forming apparatus is an apparatus in which an image is formed on a recording material (recording paper, textile or the like) using an electrophotographic image forming process, and includes an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (a LED printer, laser beam printer and so on), an electrophotographic printer type facsimile machine, an electrophotographic word processor and the like.
In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic image forming process, a process cartridge is used which integrally contains an electrophotographic photosensitive member and process means actable on the electrophotographic photosensitive member, the process cartridge being detachably mountable to the main assembly of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. With this process cartridge type, the maintenance of the apparatus can be carried out in effect without service people. Therefore, the process cartridge type is widely used in the field of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus.
Such a process cartridge forms an image on recording material with toner. Therefore, the toner is consumed in accordance with image forming operations. When the toner is consumed up to such an extent that user is not satisfied with the image quality, the commercial value of the process cartridge is lost.
It is desired that such a used process cartridge are is given the commercial value, again by remanufacturing the process cartridge through easy method.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a simple remanufacturing method for a process cartridge.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a remanufacturing method for a process cartridge and a process cartridge, wherein leakage of developer to outside of the process cartridge is effectively prevented when the process cartridge is carried or transported. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a remanufacturing method for a process cartridge, wherein a process cartridge which has been consumed to such an extent that produced images are not satisfactory due to the consumption of the developer and therefore which has lost its commercial value, can be given a commercial value.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a A remanufacturing method for a process cartridge which includes a first unit having an electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a second unit having a developing roller, a developer accommodating portion for accommodating a developer and a developer supply opening for supplying the developer from the developer accommodating portion to the developing roller, wherein the first unit and the second unit are rotatably coupled, said process cartridge is detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, said method comprising:
(a) a unit separating step of separating the units from each other by removing a pair of connecting members for connecting the first unit and the second unit;
(b) a developing roller dismounting step of dismounting the developing roller mounted to the second unit having been separated by said separation step;
(c) a second end seal mounting step of mounting a second end seal in contact with or adjacent to an outside of a first end seal which is provided at each of one and the other longitudinal ends of the developing roller;
(d) a developer refilling step of refilling the developer into the developer accommodating portion;
(e) a developing roller remounting step of remounting an or the developing roller to the second unit having been separated by said separation step; and
(f) a unit re-coupling step of connecting the first unit and the second unit by an or said pair of connecting members;
by which said process cartridge is remanufactured without mounting a toner seal to the developer supply opening having been unsealed by removing a toner seal when said process cartridge has been used.